Maybe, I thought, I should try to make all the recipes in this cookbook. Yes!!

Sunday

SIXTY-SIX : ROASTED BUTTERNUT SQUASH SOUP

NOVEMBER 20 2011

If it seems like my posts are coming fast and furious these days, it's because they are. Last week I thought I would make a fun little list of the recipes I have left to complete before The Sunday Sauce Event at the end of the year - and when I was done, I got pretty darn worried. Even taking out the ones I am saving for TSSE, I realized I need to step up my game.

I also discovered that my math skills apparently suck during the lazy days of summer because, per my current count, there are 94 recipes total, not 89 as previously stated (how did I miss 5 whole recipes!). So I kicked my butt into gear and since then have crossed 4 recipes off that list, including the butternut squash soup we had tonight.

Here we have another super simple recipe. The Frankies are serious when they say "we take the less-is-more approach to squash soup." All I have to do is roast 1 large butternut squash and 1/2 sweet potato (to help the texture) 1 hour. Then puree the flesh with 1 cup water, honey and five-spice powder; season to taste and serve hot.

First off, the sweet potato is very tender after an hour... but the squash not so much. So it goes back in the oven for another 20 minutes before it's ready. Second, scooping the flesh from the skins turns out to be a pain in the ass. Within seconds, I have already solved both of those problems for next time by peeling the raw squash and cutting it into cubes before roasting. Then, it wouldn't have to cook nearly as long and the tender cubes could be dumped right into the blender.

So it's all pureed, but I can already see that the proportions are off and it's waaaayyyy too thick. I am not interested in eating soup with the texture of mashed potatoes! But I forge on ahead and re-heat the puree as directed. Yep, even once it's hot, it is unpleasantly thick. Not quite mashed potatoes, but nowhere near soup.

not soup.

Once I stir in two additional cups water (yep, 200% more than directed), it actually becomes soup. With a little seasoning input from hubby, we're ready for dinner. After a week of heavy eating (pistachio pasta, Laurelhurst Market, eggplant marinara, eggplant marinara sandwiches, breakfast sandwich, ham sandwich... so full), a nice light soup accompanied by a fresh arugula & spinach salad (from the garden!) was just what we needed. Thrown in a tasty Oregon Pinot Noir and we have ourselves a mighty fine dinner.

Not bad at all. I will admit to not being much of a fan of pureed soups, though. They're just a bit too... velvety. Or something. I want substance! But, despite that, the flavor was nice and it was a satisfying end to the weekend. Now I just need to figure out what to do with all the left-overs this week's ramped up production schedule has produced :)

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What am I doing?

My summer resolution was to cook every recipe in The Frankies Spuntino cookbook. And cook it exactly
as the recipe states, no substitutions, no additional ingredients.
It was so much fun, I'm doing it again!